


Mouth Wide Shut

by tellezara



Category: Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-02
Updated: 2009-12-02
Packaged: 2017-11-23 18:11:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellezara/pseuds/tellezara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phoenix won't say a word in court. What's going on? Edgeworth is determined to find out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mouth Wide Shut

Wright looked unusually grim today, Edgeworth decided. Normally the defense attorney just looked nervous, or disorganised - okay, he still looked disorganised; he was leafing through his court record and scattering stray photographs as he turned the pages. But his lips were pursed, a frown on his face. Maya was standing next to him, pointing at the odd page here and there, to which Wright was nodding. Actually, that was something unusual too - they were both here early. Admittedly this was an afternoon court session but they still normally rushed in with lunch bags still in hand. Were they concerned about the outcome of the case? Yet it was a pretty certain one - Edgeworth knew there were several holes in the evidence already, much to his frustration.

He'd taken the case on at short notice after the prosecutor in charge had contracted acute shingles, and not only was the preparation shoddy, but it was also fairly obvious that the defendant couldn't have been there at the scene of the crime. He was still waiting on the results of the extra analyses he'd ordered, and he hated having to wing things like this. The best he'd probably be able to manage would be to get the trial extended for a day or two; long enough to hand back the stupid thing to Prosecutor Harper so he wouldn't be getting the rap for it.

"All rise for the judge!" the bailiff called out.

The gallery rose as the judge entered and took his seat.

"We are about to commence the trial of Mr. Horace Tapner, on charge of attempted murder causing grievous bodily harm. Are the defence and the prosecution ready?"

"The defence is ready, your Honour!" Maya said.

"The prosecution is ready, your Honour. Lost your tongue, Wright?" Edgeworth added.

Wright shook his head.

"Nick's letting me do the talking today!" Maya grinned. "He's... uh, got a sore throat. Kinda thing. Yeah."

"Is it catching?" the judge asked in alarm. "I'll adjourn the trial-"

Wright waved his hands at him frantically.

"Not catching, Your Honour!" Maya interpreted.

"Very well, if you're sure," the judge stared at them meaningfully.

Wright didn't look particularly sick. The situation was odd. Nonetheless, it certainly provided ample opportunity for insults with no risk of a comeback.

"How rare. A trial without Wright's characteristic mangling of the English language?" Edgeworth brought his hands up with a smug smile on his face. "Music to my ears."

Wright just made a face at him, wrinkling up his nose and narrowing his eyes.

"You'll be dancing to our tune today, Mr. Edgeworth!" Maya retorted. "Me and Nick are well prepared."

As it turned out, they were - Wright just pointed at the relevant bits of evidence and Maya presented them, though sometimes she had to lift the court records right up to her nose to read his spidery handwriting. They were a bizarre double act, but nonetheless an effective one. Yet why such an elaborate scenario to cover for a mere strep throat? There was more to it, and while Edgeworth parried off the contradictions in the witness testimonies he tried to puzzle it out. There had to be some other reason why Wright wasn't talking. Yet how could he get him to speak in order to find out?

_I'll have to say something really outrageous to get him to object - something he's not expecting, that Maya's not prepared for._

He bided his time as the trial went on, looking for an opportunity.

"If you were standing here, Mr. Mirani," Maya said, as Wright pointed to the right place on the map of the crime scene, "then how could you have seen the fight between the defendant and the plaintiff," Wright's finger traced his potential line of sight, stopping at the large rectangle blocking the way, "when there's a dumpster in the way? You would've just walked on by without noticing!"

"Eee!" Mr. Mirani squeaked. "I... uh-"

"Objection!" Edgeworth shouted, slamming the desk. "The answer to that question is simple. The dumpster wasn't there at the time the fight occurred."

"Objection!" Maya shouted back. "It's right there in the photo!" Wright waved it at him on her behalf, pointing to the dumpster, at the foot of which was a large pool of blood from where the stabbing had occurred.

"Mr. Edgeworth, I shall have to overrule that objection - the defense is quite correct on this matter."

Edgeworth held up a hand.

"Hear me out, your Honour. Look at the dumpster in the photo." He put his own copy of it under the video magnifier on the table so it was projected on the wall for the gallery to see. "Is the dumpster not empty?"

"It is," the judge agreed.

"So tell me, Miss Fey," Edgeworth wagged a finger at her. "Why is there an empty dumpster at a busy building site that generates hundreds of tonnes of rubbish?"

"Uhhh... they were being eco-friendly?" Maya suggested, looking up at Wright, who merely winced.

 _Got you,_ Edgeworth thought with satisfaction.

"I wouldn't give them that much credit," he said loftily. "More likely, the dumpster was full, and it was taken away to be emptied... _at the time of the attempted murder!"_

There were hushed whispers from the gallery at this. In response Wright began pointing at the photograph and making some hurried gestures to Maya.

"Objection!" Maya shouted. "If that were the case, then why would the defendant..." Wright made another gesture, "burgers?" An emphatic shake of the head and another motion, "axe? But it was a knife, Nick, not an axe... OH! Pick! Why would the defendant pick that location to stab the plaintiff?" Wright spread his arms open, and Maya took her cue: "With the dumpster gone the place is wiiide open, anyone could see them fighting!"

They had recovered. Edgeworth had to hand it to them - they'd certainly be good in a game of charades. But it meant he had to try a different tack.

"I hate to give you the kudos, but it is a valid question," he bowed. "Now, why _did_ the defendant pick this wide-open part of the site in which to stab the plaintiff, rendering him comatose? Again, another simple answer - though clearly beyond the ken of the defense."

Maya looked around her, then looked back at him, a little bewildered.

"But there's nobody called Ken here," she said.

Edgeworth sighed, shaking his head.

"It was a turn of phrase. Wright, I think you should stop having an aide at the stand - your stupidity rubs off on them."

"H-" Wright began, then abruptly shut his mouth, clapping his hand over it.

 _Damn, I nearly had him,_ Edgeworth tsked.

"Oooh, you don't pull punches when you're losing, Mr. Edgeworth!" Maya said with a grin. "Is that how you tell when you're saying the right things, Nick?"

"Ack!" That was a palpable hit, and Edgeworth felt it.

Wright flashed her a thumbs up sign and a smile. No, he couldn't let the defense get away with that one. He straightened up, regaining his composure.

"Quite the contrary, Miss Fey," he said calmly. "I have a valid answer to your question, and I certainly pull no punches when such an answer goes in my favour. In fact, it is a simple one if you look in the photo." He was looking at it himself, mind working fast to try and identify a counterargument. There. He pointed. "This is the only region of the site that isn't concreted - had Mr. Mirani not happened to be passing, I'm sure the defendant would have made quick work of burying the body using that large digger in the corner there. Instead he was forced to abscond, having botched his crime!"

"What an interesting possibility!" the judge exclaimed, and there was more hubbub from the gallery.

_For a deduction made up on the spot, I'm rather proud of that._

"OBJEGHTHION!"

Edgeworth's eyes immediately snapped to Wright - at last, he had spoken! SLAM, Wright's hands smacked the desk. At that moment Edgeworth realised that the Objection he had just heard hadn't sounded quite right.

What Wright said next was barely intelligible:  
"The protheguthion'th mithed an imporghdand poind!"

Edgeworth blinked. Then he smirked.

"Could... the defense repeat that?"

Wright flushed, straightening up, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. His sheepish smile accidentally revealed the source of his apparent speech impediment. Edgeworth stared at them, the metal brackets on each tooth, the wire running across them glinting under the sharp overhead lighting.

_Braces...?_

Now this he hadn't been expecting. A wisdom tooth out, or a root canal done, or just Wright’s occasional failure at English when he was distressed or overenthusiastic; those were logical explanations - but braces, at age 24?

"My apologhiesh," the defense attorney mumbled. "I... uh... jughst had theghse fidded."

"Orthodontic treatment at this age, Mr. Wright?" the judge raised one eyebrow. "My granddaughter had some fitted recently - she sounded just like you. You'll have to practice those tongue-twisters. Why not have a go at this one? 'She sells sea shells by the sea shore!'"

The gallery laughed, and Wright reddened further.

"I coudn'ght afforghd id beforghe now," his voice was barely audible under the laughter.

"OBJECTION!"

This silenced the gallery.

"Yes, Prosecutor Edgeworth?" the judge said.

"Er..." it had just been to get the gallery to shut up, but Edgeworth couldn't really say that. He mocked Wright for many things, but he couldn't make a snarky comment about this - it wouldn't be right, not when the man was embarrassed enough already; and if he shouldn't, then neither should the gallery. Thinking about it, he hadn't particularly considered there to be anything amiss about Wright's teeth. He'd never really paid them much attention before, though goodness knew Wright smiled often enough to show them. Then again, Wright was a little self-conscious about his appearance. He put so much effort into his hairstyle, though that was just about negated by his utter failure at ironing his suit.

_Pays so much attention to what he sees in the mirror that he forgets about everything below the neck._

"Mr. Edgeworth?" the judge asked again.

"The prosecution requests that all further communication from the defense be carried out on paper and read by his aide," Edgeworth said briskly, stacking his notes together.

 _It must feel odd, having bits of metal on your teeth,_ he thought, looking over at Wright again. The thought of that made his own teeth feel a little odd, and absently he ran his tongue over them.

"Hm," the judge pondered. "A little unusual, but in the circumstances I think this is acceptable. Will you comply with Prosecutor Edgeworth's request, Mr. Wright?"

Wright nodded with relief, immediately scribbling something on his legal pad and passing it to Maya.

"The defense wishes to point out a major flaw in the prosecution's argument," she read aloud. "Namely, that Mr. Tapner currently has no valid driving license, and therefore would not have ignition keys for the digger in question, so the location of the crime scene is a moot point!" Wright took the legal pad back for a minute to write something else, drawing a little jagged speech bubble around it. He handed it back to Maya. "Take that!" she added, turning it around to show the Take That! sign he'd just drawn.

"OBJECTION! Of course he has a driving license - he's a heavy machinery operator!"

"He _had_ one. It had been revoked two days before."

Edgeworth twitched.

_Why is there nothing about this in Harper's notes?!_

"It seems the prosecution has had the proverbial carpet drawn out from beneath their feet," the judge commented. "Do you have an alternative scenario that explains the defendant's choice of site, Prosecutor Edgeworth? Because under the current circumstances I feel more investigation is warranted - I certainly cannot charge the defendant for attempted murder when there appears to be no evidence of a premeditated act, as would be indicated by picking a secluded site and attempting to cover up the evidence. You appear to have turned about your own case!"

A glint of metal caught his eye - Wright was speaking to Maya; now the secret was out he seemed quite happy to do away with the hand gestures and speak to her directly, even if he wasn't comfortable speaking aloud to the court. Probably she had gotten used to the garbled consonants and could understand him. It was strange - nothing else about Wright had changed, and yet the braces drew his attention. He wasn't sure why he was regarding Wright with so much interest (or was it curiosity?), but he found he couldn't take his eyes off the man's mouth, the shape of his lips enunciating the words and occasionally revealing a flash of metal.

Edgeworth ran his tongue over his teeth again. A thought sprang unbidden into his head.

_Stop it, you're in court!_

He forced his mind back to the task at hand. His job here was done, at least.

"The prosecution is unable to present an alternative at this stage," he said coolly, though his previous thought still lingered and his eyes were still diverted towards the defense attorney on the opposite side of the room, though Wright's mouth was now closed and the braces hidden from sight. "The full forensic reports haven't yet been completed."

"Very well," the judge nodded. "Then you shall have a day to gather further evidence. This court is adjourned!" He slammed the gavel down. "Mr. Wright?" he added.

"Yes, your Honour?" Maya answered.

"I expect a perfect rendition of that tongue-twister on Thursday. Don't let me down, now!"

Wright had a pained look on his face in response to that. The judge got up and filed out of the courtroom, and the gallery followed soon after. Edgeworth dallied, gathering up his papers and making a show of tidying his briefcase.

"Thagnks for comingh down for thgith, Maya," Wright was saying.

"You sure you're gonna be alright for tomorrow, Nick? You might still need a translator!"

"Nah, I'ghll be bedder by thgen and jyou haghve thighngs do do in Kuraigh. I'ghll come aghnd shee you off ad thge sh... sht..." Wright was having trouble with that one.

"Want a lift to the station?" Edgeworth called out. "Save you taxi fares."

He tried to make it sound casual, though he knew it was a little out of the ordinary. But he had done it once before, so he hoped it sounded natural.

"Uh..." Wright paused.

"Orthodontic treatment is expensive, am I right?" Edgeworth pointed out.

Again, Wright flushed a little. Edgeworth worried his own cheeks were a little pink, and casually put up a hand to scratch at his cheek, relieved to find his skin still cool to the touch, though he felt a little warm.

"The offer's there if you want it," he shrugged.

"We'll take it!" Maya said, clearly not out of the habit of speaking for Wright just yet. "Thanks, Mr. Edgeworth - by the time we get a taxi I'll be pushing it a bit to get my train!"  
Even as it was, they got stuck in traffic. Edgeworth knew better than to try and make conversation with Wright, and it was Maya in the back seat who chattered away happily about what was happening in Kurain. She'd managed to wrangle a postponement of the annual elders meeting so she could come down for this first day of the trial.

"That's a lot of money in train fares just for that," Edgeworth commented.

"Well, Nick paid! I mean, it was mainly so I could come to the dentist with him," Maya added. "Nick's a big wimp when it comes to dentists, aren't you, Nick?"

"Shh!" he hissed, turning around to Maya.

"Ewww, Nick, you just spat all over me!" Maya wiped it off her robe.

"Ah! Shorry!"

"I'm gonna need an umbrella when I come down next," Maya chuckled.

Edgeworth pretended not to have heard, pulling away from the traffic light and putting his foot down on the hill up to the station. Maya would miss her train otherwise.

_What is this impulse? This isn't like me at all._

And yet that unbidden thought in the courtroom had grown into a near-complete visualisation that he somehow had to see to its conclusion. He wasn't even going to try and understand it, only get it out of his system because he had a gut feeling that leaving it unsatisfied would fail to make it go away. And... he wanted it.

"Eek, that's my train on the platform!" Maya cried, as they pulled up outside the station. She scrambled out of the car, grabbing her bag off the seat. "See ya, Nick - call me if you need anything, and thanks for the lift, Mr. Edgeworth!" she waved at them wildly as she barrelled through the ticket barrier, then she was gone.

It was quiet in the car now she wasn't sitting in it. Just the two of them. There was a moment where neither of them said anything, then Edgeworth started the car and reversed out of the station carpark. He switched on the radio to fill the silence, but then Wright said over the top of it,

"Shorry. Abought earghlier. No harghd feelingsh?"

"Would I be giving you a lift home if I was annoyed at you? I wouldn't be prosecuting that case if it were mine to begin with; I would've had it thrown out. As it was, your points with mine helped get a day's extension. Now I can fling the damn thing back in Harper's face when he returns to work tomorrow and tell him where to shove it. Feel free to wipe the floor with him on Thursday - it's a damn shoddy case and he deserves it, shingles or no shingles."

Wright laughed at this, and glancing sideways Edgeworth realised that he had blue elastic bands around the metal brackets on his teeth, anchoring the wire in place. That little personal touch brought home the connection between teeth and personality.

"...have you always had problems with your teeth?" Edgeworth decided that perhaps it was okay to ask about this after all.

Phoenix nodded.

"I'ghve beeghn neegding thegm fixshted up foghr agheth," he said slowly, trying to enunciate the words a little more clearly. "Bught it'sh nearghly fighve gragnd foghr thge whoghle thig. Lorra money, thaght."

"I never noticed anything wrong with them," Edgeworth said thoughtfully.

"Toogh many teeshth in my moushth," Phoenix replied. "Wash geddig a lorra pain from my wishdom teeshth, tho theghy took fourgh out to make thome rooghm."

"Will you have them long?"

"Sthreegh yearghs."

"Three years?!"

"Mm," Phoenix nodded, folding down the sunflap to look at his teeth in the mirror. "Teeshth are thlow to move. I th'pothe I'ghll ged ushted to it."  
"It must be sore."

"...yeagh. Lighke beig thmashted ighn thge teesth."

"Why didn't you time your appointment for a day when you weren't in court? You would've at least had more time to get used to it."

"Uh, I dighd. Thge den-t-ith-t," he sounded it out carefully, "moghved it." He sighed. "I wish thegy hadn't. Todaghy wash more thagn a lit-tle embarraghshig."

Edgeworth flipped the indicator on, pulling into the side street that lead to the defense attorney's apartments.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," he said. "Not many people would be able to go through with that kind of treatment after high school, is all - and to come out with it in such a public arena... It certainly came as a shock to me to see them," _and I didn't realise they'd have me quite this transfixed..._ "I rather wish I hadn't goaded you into raising an objection back there," he said, a little regretfully. "The whole affair could have been avoided otherwise."

"Yough were curiouth, wereghn't yough?" Wright looked at him accusingly.

"...yes," Edgeworth admitted. "Though being the type to let your mouth run away with you before your poor brain can catch up, I'm sure you would have dropped yourself in it eventually without any help from me."

"Unfairgh!"

"But true, is it not?"

Wright sighed.

"Maybegh. It was harghd, lettig Maya do thge talghking."

"So... how are you going to manage when you're investigating tomorrow?"

Wright shrugged.

"I'ghll maghnage. Make sighns or soghmeshthig."

"Well..." Edgeworth turned right into the multistorey carpark next to the apartments, "you can practice talking to me, if you want."

He was met with a blank look.

"Huh?"

They reached the second storey of the carpark and Edgeworth found a free space. He switched off the engine, turning to face Wright.

"Smile, will you?" he said.

"Thmile?" Phoenix repeated.

Edgeworth gestured to him.

"Go on."

Uncertainly, he smiled, revealing the array of shiny metal brackets, tinted a little blue by the elastics. Just visible were the gaps at the sides where he'd lost some of his teeth. He was met with a half-smile in return.

"This is a little left-field, and I'm not sure why they intrigue me so..." Edgeworth confessed. "Call it the satisfaction of a temporary curiosity, but... may I?"

He leaned forward, catching a glimpse of the look of surprise on the defense attorney's face before he closed his eyes and kissed him.

His teeth banged against the metal, a strange, foreign sensation but a rush all its own, and the warmth of Wright's lips was wonderful.  
He just took the one kiss, breaking the seal and drawing back, eyes opening. Phoenix had a hand up to his mouth, looking at him.

"You jutht..." he said slowly.

The lisp was even more endearing when he had that wide-eyed look on his face.

"I'm a little hypnotised by those train-tracks of yours," Edgeworth said softly. "Forgive my audacity. I just wanted to know what it felt like."

"It'sh thore wheghn yough do thaght," Phoenix pressed one of the brackets, wincing. "...Begh moregh careghful, yeagh?"

"Are you implying...?" Edgeworth flushed.

"Uh," Phoenix paused. "I doghn't know."

Taking that as sufficient invitation, Edgeworth leaned forward again. Now he knew what was there he was more mindful of how he kissed, just lips only and no teeth, no metal, but he couldn't resist slipping his tongue forward just a little, to taste the metallic tang of the brackets and a hint of toothpaste. The brackets were sharp but between Phoenix's teeth the wire was smooth. Why the metal aroused him he honestly didn't know - perhaps it was because Phoenix was so shy, so embarrassed about it. And had that little lisp. He felt hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer. Well, he certainly wasn't going to object, and obligingly he copied the gesture, feeling the hardness in his pants as he shifted across the car seat to get closer.

They were twisted at an awkward angle but neither of them noticed. Edgeworth was rather enjoying himself - used to engaging in hard but passionate kisses, driven by a need for release, it was a nice change to take a gentler approach. Their lips touched lightly but playfully, top lip, bottom lip, softly softly with a little tongue, their noses brushing and breath warm on each other's faces. He was beginning to feel the wet sensation of precome soaking into his underpants, rubbing against the sensitive tip of his penis. He was that hard already? He'd never felt this aroused just by kissing before - he was normally much harder to please. But in actual fact he was secretly enjoying the tight sensation in his trousers, it just made the kissing even more of a turn-on. He nibbled Phoenix's lower lip a little, his canines clacking against the brackets on Phoenix's lower teeth.

"Sorry," he murmured. "Didn't mean to catch those."

Phoenix was running his fingers down Edgeworth's back, pressing in to draw him closer still.

"Theghy're not ath thore - juscht thge top oneth," he replied, a little indistinct as Edgeworth still had his lower lip. He pulled his head up slightly so Edgeworth let go, at which point they both realised how red in the face they were. "Igh don't shthink I schould be athking whygh we're doing thith, schould I?" he said a little hesitantly.

"...probably not, though if you're enjoying it I don't see why we should stop."

Phoenix wouldn't look him in the eye, and Edgeworth took the opportunity to glance down briefly. Yes, Phoenix had a large, straining bulge in his trousers as well.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" he asked.

"...Nogh. Igh... didn't knowgh I waghnted to."

Edgeworth laughed a little at this.

"...aghnd yough?"

"Well, I'm not new to it, but I don't do it often either. Only when I need to. Or want to, like right now."

"...waghnt to?" Phoenix was already red in the face but a fresh flush crossed his cheeks. He shifted in the seat. "Yough, ah," he floundered, "yough waghnt me?"

"Yes. Though if I'm not mistaken, the feeling is mutual...?" he left the question hanging, looking pointedly at Phoenix's crotch. A small wet patch was starting to show.

"Ah...!" Phoenix tried to cross his legs but it was far, far too uncomfortable. "Igh... bught, yough need... sthingth! For, uh, thaght kind of sthing..."

"Things...?" Edgeworth looked a little uncomprehending, then the penny dropped. "Oh! Things... yes, but not for everything."

Phoenix looked a little worried.

"We can just carry on kissing if you're happy with that," Edgeworth suggested, though his own erection was becoming more uncomfortable now he wasn't doing anything else to distract his attention from it.

Phoenix still had his arms rested on Edgeworth's shoulders. He paused for a moment.

"Gogh wisth thge flowgh?" he said.

"Fine with me."

They leaned in for another kiss, a much messier one this time. Edgeworth felt Phoenix's fingers running further down his back - he appeared to be taking some of the initiative, for his hands moved around towards the front, over his hip and fingerwalking down. Edgeworth was aware of every touch of those fingers as they got closer to his erection; slowly, slowly, it was almost maddening, he just wanted him to grab it and start pumping on it. Phoenix wasn't sure, he was hesitating, as if waiting for permission. Edgeworth moved his own hands, which were at Phoenix's waist - one further towards the rear, and the other just a fraction frontwards. That seemed to be all the indication Phoenix needed, and Edgeworth inhaled sharply through his nose as fingers went for the zip in his trousers, brushing over the taut fabric.

Phoenix drew back from the kiss, mouth slightly parted in a shine of silver.

"Caghn I...?" he panted, tugging at the zip.

Edgeworth didn't even reply, too awash with relief as the unyielding fabric parted and released him, the damp fabric of his underwear protuding through his fly. Instead he began squeezing Phoenix's rear, and went for his fly with the other hand, not even bothering to undo the belt buckle, fishing underneath it for the zip, only to be foiled by the fact that the defense attorney was wearing button-up trousers. Well, damned if he could be bothered fiddling with those, instead he pressed his fingers into the hard cock beneath the fabric, to a loud gasp from Phoenix.

"Oh, you want this alright," he breathed, rubbing his fingers up and down. "Why did you hesitate before?"

Phoenix moaned, the hand on Edgeworth's cock falling still.

"Don't you dare stop!" He wanted to be wanked off so badly now, just the touch alone was sending a fresh rivulet of precome running down his shaft, to enlarge the damp patch Phoenix was resting his hand on. By way of encouragement he hooked one finger into the top of Phoenix's underpants, pulling it down to apply another finger directly to the tip of Phoenix's penis, right into the puddle of precome pooling at the top.

"Ah!" this seemed to shock Phoenix into action, and Edgeworth nearly bit his own tongue as he felt Phoenix wriggle his whole hand into his pants, the abrupt warmth of large, firm fingers curling around his cock sending his mind completely blank with the pleasure of it. But Phoenix didn't even pause to let him register that; he squeezed, almost too hard, and Edgeworth tensed, making a low, drawn out sound of appreciation. He was on the euphoric border between pain and pleasure at the tightness of it - Phoenix had big hands and the spread of his grip nearly covered his whole shaft.

Now Phoenix kept his hand still, maintaining the hold, and it allowed Edgeworth's mind to clear sufficiently to return the favour in kind, though he went for a more teasing approach because Phoenix seemed to like it. He circled his index finger around the tip of Phoenix's cock, tracking it through the precome that was wet and sticky everywhere.

Phoenix said something completely incomprehensible. Edgeworth could make out a few low, lisped 's's and little else.

"Sorry?" he said.  
"Igh thaid," Phoenix said a little more slowly, eyes half-lidded with arousal, "pleathe... maghke me come. I need to... tho badlygh, it hurtsh." He started moving his own hand by way of encouragement, little up and down movements that made Edgeworth desperate for him to do it faster, harder. And to hear him begging like that, with that lisp - it made his erection painful, the movement all the more exciting. He knew he was losing control, that his own orgasm wasn't far away.

"Oh? But I was just getting started," Edgeworth put his face up close, taking his hand away from Phoenix's rear to place it in the small of his back, pushing them closer until the gear stick jabbed into his side. "But if you insist," he sealed his mouth around Phoenix's, tongue slipping through Phoenix's lips to dance across his teeth, from bracket to bracket.

It took some fiddling to get the buttons undone, especially onehanded, but at last he had it and he slid his hand right into Phoenix's pants, caressing his length lightly a few times before wrapping his fingers around the base. He took it slow, pulling his hand lazily up towards the tip, but Phoenix's free hand abruptly gripped his shoulder and the defense attorney froze for an instant.

"Ohhhhhgh," he groaned into Edgeworth's mouth, then he was fumbling his hand up to the prosecutor's head, pushing them together and crushing him into a kiss that was rough and sharp.

Edgeworth felt a sudden jet of dampness against his wrist, and gasped as Phoenix moved the hand holding onto _his_ erection, fast, hard, in time with the rhythm of his own orgasm. He hadn't been expecting it and he lost the last vestiges of his control, his determination to make this last - he came, bucking against Phoenix's hand, clenching at the fabric of Phoenix's suit at the back and still entangled with his lips, sore and sensitive from clipping against the brackets of Phoenix's braces. But he didn't care about that - he was lost in that glorious, shuddering moment.

It was a few moments before they broke the ragged kiss. They were pressed against each other, still trying to catch their breath, stains all over their clothes from the waist up, and a trail dripping from the gearstick between them. Edgeworth licked his lips, tasting metal. He touched them with a finger - it came away with blood on it.

"Oh. I cut my lip."

"Shorry," Phoenix apologised. "Igh, uh, got a bit carrieghd awaygh."

"Happens to the best of us," Edgeworth sucked on his lower lip to try and stop the bleeding. He had to confess, it'd been the hottest sexual encounter he'd had in a long time. A cut lip was a small price to pay, really. As for why the braces had turned him on so much, he wasn't entirely sure.

_I suppose this is what people call a fetish?_

He felt a little embarrassed, even admitting that in his head.

"Oh nogh!" Phoenix was looking in the mirror on the sunflap. "A bracket'th come off." It had come away from one of his incisors to the side. He moved it sideways along the wire with his tongue. "I'ghll haghve to go get it fixshed tomorrogh."

"Ah," Edgeworth looked at the broken bracket. "That... may have been me."

"Weghll, we're even nowgh, aren't we?" Phoenix grinned. "Um," he paused, "thaghnkyou. For thish. It wath... good?" he said, a little abashed.

"The pleasure was all mine," Edgeworth smiled wryly. "You know, your speech is starting to get a little clearer."

"Yeah?" Phoenix said happily.

Edgeworth suspected it was a lot of effort for him to get the syllables, if his earlier lapse into unintelligibility was anything to go by.

"It's a shame," he said nonchalantly. "You sound rather endearing with your little lisp. I could just about forgive your terrible grammar in court if you had that to go with it."

"Funny hahagh," Phoenix retorted. He looked down at his trousers - the stains were darker now, still slightly damp but less noticeable than they had been when fresh. "Igh need to chaghnge," he said, grabbing his briefcase from the floor of the car.

Edgeworth knew his trousers weren't in much better condition. Phoenix was about to open the passenger door, fishing his apartment keys out of his pocket.

"Wait!" Edgeworth called out. "Your fly's still open."

Phoenix looked down, eyes wide. "OH!" He put his briefcase back down and hurriedly buttoned it up. Grabbing it back up again, he was about to leave when he paused, turning back.

"If I hadn't had thegthe fitted, would you haghve done thith?" he asked.

"Er..." Edgeworth wouldn't look at him.

"Okay. I'ghll reword thaght. Would you do thith again if I _didn't_ haghve bratheth on?"

Now that, he could answer - and with a smirk, he did.

"Well, by then, I'll be so used to them that kissing you without will be a whole new curiosity."


End file.
